Pumpkin Granola

This week seems to be starting out as a 180 from last week, especially in school.  Something about knowing there is a day off from school makes students overexcited all week, so last week definitely felt hectic.  This week students are mostly unaware of our delayed opening at the end of the week so I'm not expecting any craziness until Thursday at the earliest.  Even though it is early in the week it has been a relaxing and productive week.  I've made a lot of progress on my seing project, but I'm not going to share and pictures until it is complete, which I'm hoping will be by the end of the week! Although with football this weekend and the apple festival it might be early next week before I post anything about my project.

So since I'm having a nice relaxing week I thought I'd share a recipe that is so easy and fills the room with a great aroma for you to smell as it bakes in the oven.  I found the recipe here on The Pastry Affair's blog.  I made my own adjustments to this recipe so if you want to see the original recipe  (and nicer pictures) go to the above link.

The first time I made this recipe I used the ingredients below and my mom and I finished the first batch so fast that I doubled the recipe this time around. (I apologize for the ingredients that are cut in half).

The fist time I made this I only have table syrup, not maple syrup and could not find pumpkin seeds or unsweetened coconut.  The second time I used the below recipe and it is even better than the first.

First time batch(adapted from The Pastry Affair:)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup table syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup craisins
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/8 cup ground flaxseed

Second Batch:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups craisins
1 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

Preheat your oven to 350.

It is this easy, toss everything but the oats, almonds, seeds, and craisins in a bowl.  Stir until mixed then add the remaining ingredients and mix.  Line a cookie sheet (preferably with edges) with parchment paper.  Spread the granola mixture evenly in the pan.  Place in you oven for 20 min. then mix it around and place back in the oven for 20 min. As the granola cools it will crisp up.

This smells so good while it bakes, the pumpkin and spices are the perfect fall scent.  Make sure to store the granola in an airtight container.

My favorite way to enjoy this delicious granola is in a bowl with almond milk...mmm! (Although I would like to try making this recipe into granola bars)  Hopefully this batch will last longer than a week!  Enjoy!!

Soup Sunday

A couple of weeks ago I was in the mood for soup even though it was still pretty warm out.  I think that the instant someone mentions the word 'Fall' I instantly crave thick, creamy soups.  Thus I decided to designate Sundays as "Soup Sunday", whether we eat soup for dinner that night or I just make soup on Sunday to have for lunch the rest of the week or even make it to freeze to have for dinner another night of the week, it doesn't matter.

On this particular Sunday I decided to make a recipe I fell in love with last Fall and I decided to also try a new recipe.  This was partially to help me from being sick of one particular soup by the end of the week.

First I made Butternut Squash Soup from one of last year's Food Network Magazines.  You can find the recipe here. I will say that I really find putting the soup in an actual pumpkin unnecessary unless you are entertaining guests, plus it seems like such a waste to not use the center of the pumpkins.

I follow that recipe with the exception of using chicken or vegetable broth instead of water and I absolutely put in the heavy cream (it adds an extra creamy texture and seeing as it is only 3 tablespoons I think I can live with the extra calories).  I think that making this soup with an immersion blender is your best bet (uses the least amount of dishes), but unfortunately I do not currently have one and my parent's blender still did the job!

Pardon the messy looking blender, I'm not the cleanest cook.

I love that this soup is the perfect color for autumn and an even better flavoring.  While it is a great soup on its own, J and I have found our favorite toppings are turkey bacon and sourdough croutons, but I'm dying to try it with pumpernickel croutons.

As a huge fan of Food Network Magazine I wanted to try one of their soup recipes from this season.  Thus I tried their recipe for Broccoli-Cheddar Soup which can be found here.  I was timid to try it because it calls for potatoes and sweet potatoes, but I thought why not for Soup Sunday.

This is everything cooking together, it sure smelled good cooking.  I'm not going to go over the recipe as it is in the link above and I pretty much followed it exactly.

My opinion is that if you are looking for a true broccoli-cheddar soup, this is not the soup for you.  While you can taste both, it is definitely not the bold flavoring that I expect in a broccoli-cheddar soup.  However, the soup is really creamy and still has good flavors.  I think that both potato flavors definitely stand out so the soup tastes more like a baked potato with broccoli and cheddar on top of it (which to me is delicious).  While I have been eating it on its own, it would probably be good with crumbled bacon and a dollop of sour cream on top.

Thats it for Soup Sunday!

Signs of Fall

Today was the first day that has really felt like Fall.  Sure we've had some cooler days and cool mornings, but most of the time its followed by humidity in the afternoon or an almost 90 degree day.  The forecast this week says we won't reach 70 all week.

It is my favorite season despite its unpredictable nature.  Perhaps it is because I've lived in a forested town for most of my life and I love when the leaves start to change, or that I hate 97 degree days that make me feel like I'm melting in the summer.  All I know is I will be happy to go through my boxes of warmer clothes and scarves this weekend (not winter ones yet though!) and begin changing my closet to fit the season change.

Along with the changing season comes the use of some of my favorite foods: squash, pumpkin, etc.  I've already been making Fall recipes the past few weeks so that I've got our favorites tweaked and ready to make for the cooler weather.  Look for recipes and pictures of what I've been making in the following week (hopefully!).

Since I haven't posted anything since June I'm just going to summarize what the rest of the summer was like.  I was asked to fill in as a manager at my summer job, so I was able to get more hours in at work and was able to save some money living at home over the summer.  J worked a lot too and got our trip to Italy all figured out (I'm counting down the days!).  While I stressed out about getting a job all summer, I did manage to get a job at the end of August, but unfortunately not as a teacher.  As a teaching assistant I'm enjoying being in a school and am learning something new each day, but it is definitely not the same as having my own classroom.

Also, we managed to get many of the things on our summer list accomplished and then some:

-Get a job  (Woo!)

-Kayaking (This was a blast!  We went for three hours and we were both EXHAUSTED afterwards!)

-Run a 5k

-Run a 10k

-Hike/Camping

-Beach days!  (We went down for the 4th of July, my mom's birthday and many other days throughout the summer!)

-Start making a serious plan for what J and I will do come September if I don't have a job (Now that I have a job we've been spending a lot of time looking for apartments and I think we've found one!)

-Do some sewing   (I started a project, but its not done yet..pictures soon)

-Stay after work to sunbathe or swim  (I did not swim afterwork, but I did lay out and unfortunately I'm still extremely pale, oh well)

-Learn how to jar foods

-Go picking! (Mom and I picked blueberries...mmm. J and I might go apple picking soon)

-Picnic

-Outdoor concert with J (I didn't go to an outdoor concert but the girls and I did go see Katy Perry)
-Trip to NYC

-Post more! 

One of the most exciting things we did this summer, well that J did, is skydiving!  He and one of my best friends, G, are both into things like this so I suggested they should go together since I don't think I will ever be able to jump out of a plane.  My mom and I watched as they jumped and came safely to the ground.  Definitely an unforgettable experience for both of them!

Summer Smoothies

I've recently become addicted to smoothies (much to everyone else in the house's disdain for the noise of the blender early in the morning).  It is a combination of the hot, humid weather here in Jersey and my daily reading of (never home)maker's blog.  This woman is incredible, 24 weeks pregnant and still staying active an healthy.  I wish I could currently run as much as she can now at 24 weeks, it is super impressive and inspiring.

Anyway, back to the main point of this post.  Last week her blog was all smoothies and what luck, I had already been making my typical smoothies and was looking for something different and filling.  So when I saw this recipe on (never home)maker's blog I knew I had to make it and boy was I happy I did.  It was DELICIOUS and FILLING.  

What is different from this than my normal summer smoothies? The addition of OATMEAL.  Why had I never thought to add that before?  It adds some great texture to the smoothie and thickens it at the same time.  This left me feeling full for much longer than my normal breakfasts and I've been adding it to most of my smoothies since then.  Also, I've never used almond milk before and I am so happy I did.  It adds just a little bit of sweetness to the smoothie and has a lot less calories than skim milk. Sweet!

I followed the recipe to the T the first time I made it and while delicious, my blender had a hard time processing it.  So the next time I changed the following measurements:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt to 1/4 cup

1/2 cup almond milk to 3/4 cup

1/2 cup rolled oats to 1/4 cup

3/4 cup frozen strawberries to 1 cup

1/2 cup ice <- I prefer measuring in cubes, I used 4 large cubes

I also made this smoothie with 1/2 cup frozen strawberries and 1/2 frozen blueberries.  While it was still delicious, I think the all strawberry smoothie tastes the best.  The longer you let a smoothie with blueberries sit, the more I feel the skins from the blueberries travel to the bottom which does not make for the most delicious ending to a smoothie.

Anyway, I highly suggest that if you like a cool, refreshing and filling breakfast that you try this smoothie!

Summer of New Things

I'm hoping to making this summer a good one.  I'm only working part time at my job and searching for a fulltime teaching position.  Finding a job for the fall is really starting to worry me.  The one position I thought I'd have a much easier time getting (because I student taught there) was filled, I didn't even get an opportunity to interview there.  I'm really frustrated by that but I can't let it hold me back.

Before J and I moved in with my parents (which is another reason I would like a job ASAP) we talked about making a list of things that we want to do over the course of the summer.  The two of us still haven't made our list, but this is my list:

-Get a job (too obvious?)

-Kayaking (South of my house are a bunch of places we can kayak on rivers)

-Run a 5k

-Run a 10k (maybe more towards the fall though, I'm really not up to pushing myself because last time thats how I hurt myself)

-Hike/Camping (I live in an area with great trails...how did I never get into this?)

-Beach days! (Plural pleeease)

-Start making a serious plan for what J and I will do come September if I don't have a job

-Do some sewing (not sure what I want to make but its something I'd like to do)

-Stay after work to sunbathe or swim (I do not want to end the summer pale yet again, I read the sun can help eczema)

-Learn how to jar foods

-Go picking! (strawberry season is basically over, but blue berries and raspberries anyone?)

-Picnic

-Outdoor concert with J
-Trip to NYC

-Post more!  (I really can't seem to keep up on blogging)

There are more that I can't think of right now, perhaps I will edit later on.  Hopefully I'll get to cross many of these off my list!

What do you want to do this summer?

Home Sweet Home

The move is officially complete.  J and I are all moved in with my parents and boy can you tell by the mounds of boxes throughout the house.  I really owe my parents big time for allowing us to live here for the time being.  While it is nice to be home I will admit that it is an odd experience.  After having lived away for home for the past few years it is hard to get used to tip toeing when I get home from going out with the girls so that I don't wake up the dogs who will bark and wake my parents up.

On another note I had my first official interview for a teaching job this past friday!  It went alright, but I won't hear anything until tomorrow about whether or not they want me back for a demo lesson.  What is even more stressful is that they won't tell me what grade level I'm interviewing for until tomorrow either!  So basically I have two days to prep...yikes!!  Its really frustrating, exciting, nerve-wrecking...the list goes on.  We'll see how it goes.  I hope I at least get calls for other interviews soon.  It is so frustrating waiting!

Hello Again.

Finally back (hopefully) after a very long hiatus.  Initially when I created this blog I wanted it to be a record of my student teaching and while I posted a handful of times during my student teaching, I never realized how much work up keep of a blog would be.  That has held especially true for me this semester.  My intention was to continuing posting this semester, but between work, school and worrying about finding a teaching position I'm always too exhausted to post.  With my graduation just around the corner (4 weeks from today!) I'm hoping that the extra time I will now have will give me the opportunity to post more.  Be expecting more cooking and job search stories!

Its definitely going to be a peculiar transition in the next couple of weeks.  J and I are moving in with my parents temporarily after I graduate.  The idea is that living with them will give me the opportunity to find a teaching position and give the two of us time to search for an apartment.  Since J's job is close to my parents' house and I'm looking for jobs all over picking out an apartment before I have a job could mean an extremely long commute.  After seeing how tired J is after his current commute (1-1.5 hrs) every day I don't think I could handle that type of a commute for an entire year.  Now we just have to hope I get a teaching position (cross your fingers please!).

Alright now back to the mound of assignments I have due in the next 3 weeks...